Bernardino Guevara-Reyes stood before a Howard County Circuit Court judge Tuesday as a defendant unable to communicate.
With no translator at his side, Guevara-Reyes could not understand Judge Lenore Gelfman.
But she solved the problem. She switched the language she was speaking.
Speaking rapidly in Spanish, Gelfman scheduled upcoming court dates with the man, before switching back to English to confirm those dates with the English-speaking prosecutor.
It was a sign of things to come. Ready or not, Spanish is making its way into the court room.
An increasing number of experts say that knowing a second language is huge bonus in the field of law.
“I?ve often said law students should take one less law class and one more foreign language class,” said Thomas Morgan, a professor at the George Washington University Law School.
With Spanish considered one of the fastest-growing languages in the world and more Spanish-speaking immigrants moving to the United States every day, a legal professional must be able to understand the language. Already, federal cases in Puerto Rico can be argued in Spanish, and New Mexico has adopted the tongue as one of two official languages, said Jerome Barron, a professor at George Washington University Law School.
Law schools are even considering changing some of the ways they do business, in order to accommodate more Spanish speakers.
“There is much discussion in the legal writing community about conducting more legal writing in Spanish,” said Eric Easton, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. “The import of it is the increasing number of Spanish-speaking students coming into school.”
But Barron and others say conducting too much of the court?s business in a foreign language could cause more problems than it solves.
“I don?t really favor having any other language but English in the courts or the legislature,” he said. “It becomes a source of conflict.”
Howard County Del. Neil Quinter, D-District 13 and practicing lawyer, said judges speaking Spanish in the courtroom could be “problematic.”
“You could have a situation where the lawyers can?t understand what?s being said,” he said.
Howard County State?s Attorney Timothy McCrone said he seeks to hire people who know the language.
“We even advertise some positions asking for a person who is fluent in Spanish,” he said. “It?s just coming in handy more and more.”
